Forex trading is quite popular among the tech-savvy retail Filipino traders. Even though the country’s currency does not appear in the FX trading world, retail traders and even commercial financial firms have come to embrace it. There are quite many brokers that offer FX trading services across the Philippines. As a trader, you should ensure that you are with the best Filipino Forex brokers. The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas is the central bank of the Philippines. While the bank monitors the economic performance of the country, it is the Securities and Exchanges Commission (SEC) which regulates the Forex trading in the country. The SEC uses the laid out laws to ensure that all the BSP regulated Forex brokers are regulated accordingly. Visit the SEC website www.sec.gov.ph to verify whether the broker you intend to pick is regulated by BSP.

In the Philippines, most of the brokers offer their customers limited options when it comes to withdrawing and depositing of funds. Many of the brokers which have been incorporated in foreign countries offer USD, GBP, AUD and EUR currencies. It is, therefore, important that you check whether a broker will allow you to withdraw pesos from your FX account. For the locally incorporated firms, it is obvious that they will offer you Pesos as one of the currencies to transact on your FX account.

It should not escape you that a broker worth his or her salt should be able to offer you quality customer support. Note that whether a broker has an office in the Philippines or not, they must be able to serve you 24 hours every business day of the week. In the Philippines, a broker in Australia which is +10 CET should be one of the options to consider given that the Philippines is +8 CET.

Take a look at the top Filipino FX brokers and their reviews

There are over 20 brokers which are regulated by the SEC. A majority of these brokers have been incorporated outside of the Philippines and hence their offices are not here. We have conducted an in-depth research on the best Filipino FX brokers and we have come up with the following list which will make it easy for you to pick your favorite broker.

Year founded

Trading platform

Z.Com Trade

Minimum deposit

Regulation

Bonus

Maximum leverage

Year founded

Trading platform

In order to learn more about a particular broker, you can visit their official website. At the same time, we know that can be risky and you might be exposed to Filipino Forex scams. That is why we have come up with in-depth reviews on all the brokers around. You will learn all about the brokers without necessarily leaving the safety and convenience of our website.

What is SEC and what does it mean to be BSP regulated Forex broker?

Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) is a body which carries out the role of regulating all FX brokers in the Philippines. However, it is also worthwhile to note that the BSP is involved in the integral regulation of all the financial firms in the country. Among the roles which SEC does with regard to FX regulation include;

It has total regulatory control over all the types of financial firms that are indirectly or directly licensed by the Philippines government. As such, all the BSP regulated Forex brokers are supposed to follow SEC rules to the letter.

It is the SEC which has the ultimate authority on whether a company should be licensed or not.

The SEC advises the Congress, the government and any other federal authority on the latest recommendations which might affect the securities and exchange market.

SEC has the power to suspend a business for breach of the laid out guidelines and can even impose heavy sanctions and penalties. This can be done without intervention from any government agency or department.

SEC has the power to summon witnesses, initiate a search and seizure of evidence and even issue subpoenas. In general, the SEC wields power which is often enjoyed by much higher bodies and agencies in other countries.

What does it mean to be BSP regulated?

As earlier stated, BSP is the central bank of the Philippines. It is mandated with the responsibility of ensuring the overall financial and economic stability of the Philippines. It does not directly regulate the FX brokers in the country rather the role is delegated to the SEC. BSP regulates and controls the country’s foreign exchange policy and manages the foreign exchange reserves. All FX brokers licensed to operate in the Philippines should adhere to the Republic Ac No. 6426 which outlines all the regulations pertaining to Forex.

The legal requirements of Forex broker in the Philippines

The legal Forex requirements make brokers become answerable to the legal authorities of the country. These rules are designed to protect traders especially when the trader is in the Philippines and the FX broker is located abroad. The laws are designed to help bring out the best Forex brokers in the country.

It is legal to engage in Forex trade while in the Philippines. However, there are laws and regulations which one must abide by. According to Bangko Sentral NG Pilipinas (BSP), residents and non-residents can buy FX from an authorized entity. A resident can buy FX from an authorized firm of up to $30,000 without the need for the firm to get prior approval from the BSP.

Surrender of Forex earnings is not mandatory for residents. The earnings may be sold for pesos onshore or retained in foreign currency. The earnings can also be deposited in the Philippines or abroad. The registration of foreign investment with a custodial bank or with BSP is optional. This is unless the foreign exchange is intended to be used to service the repatriation of capital or a remittance of related earnings.

The Philippines Stock Exchange (PSE) and CFD trading

In 1992 after the merger of the Manila Stock Exchange and the Makati Stock Exchange, the Philippines Stock Exchange was born. Even though the PSE is relatively new, the previous exchanges had been around since 1927. In the exchange, there are over 30 listed companies. Several of the largest Forex Filipino brokers have access to the markets and this means that they have the capacity to trade in currency pairs. The popularity of Forex together with the trading of CFDs among traders in the Philippines is quite high. This has been compounded by the fact that cryptocurrency has become a world phenomena now. Many of the cryptocurrency Filipino brokers are also engaged in FX. You should, therefore, not find it hard to locate a broker who will offer you all the derivatives to trade.

The Philippines Forex scams

The BSP was founded in 2003. This makes it one of the youngest central banks in the world. However, the bank is very strict when it comes to foreign exchange control. While the bank allows intermediaries to freely trade any market they want it does not tolerate scams, price manipulation or money laundering schemes. The bank often severely punishes any transgressor of any of the laid out laws and regulations.

There are several alerts which get published either by SEC or the BSP on the emergence of a new scam or the likelihood of one. This has over the years helped many traders avoid falling prey to scammers. In February of 2017, SEC issued a warning on a scam which was promising traders that they would get rich overnight by investing a minimum of $10 in a certain FX platform. The least a trader would get was 1.49% daily if they invested just $10. A trader would get 25% biweekly if they invested $1,000.

There are many Forex scams flying throughout the Philippines. As a prudent trader, you should only engage with a BSP regulated Forex broker. This way, you will be sure that you won’t be a victim of a scam because BSP has your back.

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